Leave Out All The Rest
by WritingIsHardBro
Summary: Stiles Stilinski is a 28 year old single father of three. His wife died a year earlier, leaving him with two five year olds and one three year old. There's no denying that Stiles' life was rather weird, what with a werewolf for a best friend, but what happens when his three year old daughter starts seeing images of his dead wife?
1. Chapter 1

"Daddy! Brock took my doll!" A little girl cried, running out of the playroom, her brown hair flying out behind her.

Stiles turned around just in time to scoop the little girl into his arms, "You two are five years old, you need to work on getting along." He shifted her to his hip and began walking towards the playroom where he heard his son's laughter. He entered the room, a small smile on his face as he saw his four year old son putting around, flying a toy airplane armed with a barbie doll. Stiles set his daughter down and the girl ran over to her brother and pointed with a pout.

"See Daddy! He has my barbie!"

Stiles let out a sigh and squatted down next to his son with an eyebrow raise, "Brock, Is that Macey's barbie?"

The little boy bowed his head, blushing. "Maybe."

"Can you give her it back?"

Brock stayed quiet for a moment before shoving the doll back to his sister. Macey smiled wide before giving her brother a tight hug. Grateful that the situation had been diffused, Stiles turned on a movie for the two of them before heading back to the living room.

Scott, Kira and Malia were waiting for him, talking quietly amongst themselves. He moved back to his spot on the couch, Scott's attention moved to him. "Macey and Brock okay?"

"Yeah, you know how they are. They were bickering as per usual." Stiles shrugged, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. Right as he settled into his seat, there was a shrill wail from upstairs. Stiles closed his eyes, letting out a tired sigh. "I guess Claudia is awake."

Scott and Kira exchanged a look before Kira stood up, "I'll go calm her down, try and get her back to sleep."

Stiles nodded, "Thanks." Pack meetings had gotten more complicated since kids had been added into the equation. Malia didn't have any of her own yet, and Scott and Kira only had a month old little boy, who was currently sleeping quietly in his baby carrier. With Stiles having the twins who were five, and Claudia who was only three, it was difficult to keep them distracted long enough for any actual discussions to take place.

"Has she been sleeping any better?" Malia asked, cocking her head in the directions of the wails.

"Not really. She sleeps for maybe four hours and then refuses to go back to sleep for the next hour. She wants...She wants-"

Scott put a hand on his friends shoulder, an understanding look on his face. "We all want her back Stiles."

"Even me." Malia interjected.

Scott looked up, giving the coyote a smile, "Even Malia."

Stiles gave them a both a weak smile in return, "I know. But missing her isn't going to bring her back."

Malia frowned before standing up, She may of gotten used to being human, but she still wasn't one for dealing with others feelings. "I'm going to go help Kira with Kira...She likes it when my eyes glow. Maybe it'll calm her down." Malia turned and skipped up the stairs, two at a time. Even as an adult, the woman had a rather childlike mind.

Scott patted Stiles' back before carefully taking his son out of the baby carrier, being extra careful not to wake him. "I'm going to go change Alex's diaper..." It seemed like Stiles' needed to be alone now, he had a rather vacant look on his face which usually signaled that his mind was elsewhere.

Stiles nodded, "No. Dude, It's cool." When he heard Scott's footsteps leave, his head sunk slowly into his hands. He still remembered that night so clearly...the night he'd lost her.

* * *

He'd gotten off work early, hanging his gun in the closet by the front door. He was greeted by hugs from Macey and Brock, Malia trailing behind them laughing. Malia tended to babysit for them most of the time, she got along well with the kids and despite her bluntness, he knew she'd protect them if need be. _She_ was working late, stuck in a meeting or something. She'd texted him the details, but he hadn't paid much attention.

Stiles hugged Malia, thanking her for watching the twins and Claudia, handing her a fifty dollar bill. He turned his attention to his kids, wrapping them each in a big bear hug. The two let out shrill laughter, and he quickly swung Brock on his back and let Macey cling to his front. He then made his way into the playroom where Claudia was immersed in a princess movie. He set the twins down next to her, and went to fix dinner.

He sent them to be around eight, reading them each a story of their choosing. By nine he was starting to get nervous, she was normally never this late. He checked his phone and saw there was no new messages.

By ten he was panicked, He was pacing when he heard his phone go off. He ran to it quickly, picking it up.

"Hey Deputy, We've got an accident on the highway. It's pretty bad, think you can come in?"

Stiles paused, maybe he needed something to get his mind off his wife for a bit. "Yeah, just let me get someone to stay here with the kids." He quickly shot a text off to Malia, who managed to get there in a matter of ten minutes, pulling up on her motorcycle.

"If they wake up, tell them I had to go do something for work." He told her, grabbing his keys and gun.

"No problem Stiles but...where's-"

"Not home yet, I guess her meeting ran late." Stiles shrugged, giving her an awkward one armed hug before running out to his car. He started it and pulled out of the driveway, heading to the scene of the accident. The minute he got there, he knew something was wrong. He got out of his car quickly, rushing over to the police cruiser.

"How bad is it?"

"Now Stiles..." The Sheriff started, putting a hand on his chest.

But whatever he said, Stiles wasn't listening. A flash of pink of had caught his eye, a pink car seat was lying next to a car that was nothing but scrap medal now...The same pink car seat that Claudia sat in while riding in her mother's car. Upon closer inspection, he realized who's car the mangled mess was and his heart all but shattered.

"Where is she?" He asked, his voice hollow.

"Stiles, She's in cr-"

"Where is she?!" He all but yelled, "Where is Lydia? Where is my wife?"

The officer stopped, taking his bottom lip into his mouth, "They just loaded her into the ambulance...It's bad Stiles..."

"Is she-Is she still alive?" His voice cracked on the last word, she couldn't be dead. They had a family together...she couldn't leave him...not now, not ever.

"She's hanging on Stiles, we arrested the driver of the other car, He was driving while intoxicated and-"

Stiles stopped, turning to see a middle aged man sitting in the back of the police cruiser. A wave of anger washed over him and he threw open the door to the car, his eyes ablaze.

"You better hope that my wife lives, or so help me god I'll kill you before the court could even sentence you."

"Stilinski!" His coworker pulled him back, stepping in between him and the criminal. "Now isn't the time. Go with your wife. They're leaving."

Stiles nodded, the anger gone as soon as it had came. He quickly hopped on the ambulance, his heart stopping at the sight of his wife.

Lydia was covered in bruises and horrible cuts. Her eyes were swollen shut, and he even saw a few bones jutting out here and there.

"Her heartbeat is irregular." One of the EMT's said, looking over at his partner. "There may be some swelling in the brain. "

Stiles turned away, he couldn't see her like this. Instead he pictured her on their wedding day, smiling wide and bright in her wedding gown. He closed his eyes and focused on those memories, her laugh, so much like Claudia's, her smile, identical to Macey's and her bright eyes similar to Brock's in shape in color. They arrived at the hospital shortly, they wheeled her off, rushing her to surgery.

They wouldn't let him back, so he took the time to call Malia...to fill her in.

"Stiles! Hi, Do you have any idea when you're gonna be home? I'm supposed to meet Kira for bre-"

"Malia!"

"Hold on Stiles, You aren't supposed to interrupt people when they're talking. It's rude, you've given me a lecture about it like twenty times. I was saying that I'm supposed to meet Kira for breakfast tomorrow and I'd like-"

"Malia!"

"Stiles! Shut up, I'm talking!"

"It's about Lydia!" He all but yelled, "She's been in an accident and is in critical condition. I'm not going to be home for awhile."

"Oh." Her voice was soft, "I'm sorry I didn't let you finish."

"It's okay." Stiles sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Just bring the kids to school tomorrow? You can drop Claudia off at my dad's house if you don't want to deal with her all day, just don't tell them about their mom, alright?" There was a silence on the other line and Stiles actually cracked a smile, "I can't see you nodding your head across the phone Malia."

"Oh right, I got it. I'll text Kira and cancel. I hope she's okay Stiles, I really do."

He hung up the phone and sat in one of the uncomfortable waiting seats, remembering when he had done the same for her back in High School. He must of been there for at least six hours when a nurse came out. Stiles jumped up immediately, a look of worry on his face.

"Is she-?"

"She's steady...for now. You can go in and see her if you'd like...but she's unconscious."

Stiles nodded, "I don't care, I need to see her."

The nurse nodded, "I understand...follow me." He followed behind her, entering room 289, a number he now considered his very unlucky number. Inside he heard a steady beep, which should've calmed him-except for the fact that Lydia looked as if she was literally made of gauze and plaster. He sucked in a gulp of air before going to sit by her bed. He saw her ring in the light, the stone cracked down the middle, half of it gone, if he had to guess, somewhere amongst the wreckage. He began twisting his own ring around his finger, waiting for the nurse to leave before he spoke.

"I'll leave you two alone."

Stiles felt the tears coming, it hurt him so much to see her like this...so weak and defenseless. It was like his heart had been ripped out and stepped upon repeatedly. He wanted to hold her hand, but he couldn't. Her face was swollen, but her mostly void of any bandages...but it didn't look like his Lydia. He opened his mouth to speak, when he saw her fingers wiggle ever so slightly.

"Lydia?"

He watched as her eyes opened as far as they could go when they were so swollen and a flicker of hope ignited him him.

"Baby, it's me."

She didn't acknowledge him at all. It wasn't even like she was truly there, there was a pause and then the ball dropped.

Lydia dropped her jaw and let out the loudest, ear shattering, earth shaking scream Stiles had ever heard in his lifetime. His hands clapped over his ears instantly, trying to save his eardrums from bursting at the noise.

The scream wasn't long, and as soon as it was over her eyes closed and her monitor flatlined.

It was the scream that haunted Stiles every time he closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Stiles let out a yawn, waking up early still wasn't his most favorite thing to do. Normally Lydia would've been the one to get the twins ready for school while he took care of waking up Claudia once Brock and Macey were downstairs, ready to go. But with Lydia gone, He had to get up extra early to get the twins _and_ Claudia ready for the day.

"Daddy, I want french braids today." Macey said, still clutching tight to her stuffed wolf given to her by her Uncle Scott.

Stiles made a face, his braiding skills were still sub-par at best, but he nodded anyway, leading his son and daughter into the bathroom. He set Brock to work on brushing his teeth while he ran a brush through Macey's brunette locks. His long fingers tried to maneuver the strands into a decent braid. When he was finished, he let out a sigh. The braid was rather messy, Lydia was normally the one who dealt with Macey's hair, the most he could really do was pigtails and ponytails. He patted her head and set her off to her room to get dressed. Luckily Macey was Lydia's daughter and could pick out her own clothes without looking like her closet vomited up on her. He shuttered at the idea of having to put together a decent out for a five year old girl, Brock was easy, he just had to put together something he'd wear. The only difference was the size of the clothes.

Once both children were clothed and fed, he looked down at his watch and saw it was time to wake up Claudia. He turned on some children's show on Disney and jogged back up there stairs where his three year old was standing in her door frame, her strawberry blonde curls sticking straight up. Stiles let out a chuckled and picked her up, quickly dressing her in the outfit Macey had decided on her for the day and running a comb through her curls before securing it with a matching bow. Once her teeth were brushed, he shifted her to his hip and the two headed down the stairs to sit with her brother and sister. His eyes flickered back to the clock, he still had ten minutes before they needed to be out the door. He quickly gathered the twin's bookbags and Claudia's bag for daycare.

Stiles finally managed to shuffle all the kids out to his car, he started the engine and drove out of the driveway.

"Okay, Clauds, Aunt Kira is gonna pick you up from daycare after snack time. Brock and Macey, Malia is going to pick you up from school when it's over and then swing by Kira and Scott's and get Claudia. Got it?" He looked in the mirror at his children, seeing Brock and Macey nodding and Claudia chewing on her granola.

"Mommy doesn't like Aunt Malia." Claudia said casually, taking another bite of her granola.

Stiles froze, having to stomp on the brake to keep from colliding in the car in front of him. Claudia hardly ever spoke, She used to be pretty chatty when Lydia was alive, but the babbling stopped when her mother passed. "What makes you say that?"

Claudia looked up at her father, her green eyes blinking innocently. "She just rolled her eyes."

Now that was weird, but little kids said weird stuff all the time. Should he bother looking it? Not to mention Lydia had come to be rather fond of the blunt werecoyote, Malia had even been one of her bridesmaids. But Stiles' train of thought was cut short when Brock spoke,

"Is Malia gonna bring her motorcycle today?"

Stiles chuckled, he knew that Brock loved it when Scott or Malia would take him out on their motorcycles. Lydia had a fit about it when he had first asked, refusing to let him ride it, but with Malia taking care of the kids after school, he'd ridden it at least ten times by now...and Stiles knew if Lydia was still around she'd be pissed off at him for allowing it, "No, I think Malia is driving her car today dude."

"Is it the one that doesn't have a top?" Macey asked, "Cause that messes up my hair."

"I'm sure if you ask her to put the top up Macey, she will." Stiles responded, God she sounded so much like Lydia.

* * *

It absolutely sucked being dead, Lydia hated it with a fiery passion. Being stuck on the other side, being forced to watch her family go through the day, watch Stiles struggle with their daughters. Honestly when she saw his horrid attempt at french braiding that morning she wanted nothing more than to smack his hands away and deal with their daughters hair herself, but being dead kinda eliminated that option.

Lydia continued as she normally did, climbing into the car silently and watching from the sidelines. When Stiles mentioned Malia, the woman couldn't help but roll her eyes. It wasn't that she didn't like Malia-more accurately she was jealous. She didn't like the fact that Malia got to spend the afternoon's with her children and talk to Stiles when she was stuck watching them live their lives.

But then she heard what her daughter said and her head snapped up. "Claudia?"

"Mommy's speaking to me right now actually." The little girl said.

Lydia's attention turned back to Stiles who was shaking his head, it was clear he believed very little of what the three year old was saying. She sighed, deciding not to say anything else, she didn't want to get Claudia to get in any trouble with Stiles. She knew he would probably say something to Scott about it later, which of course was something she had to be there for. She was just as curious as he was.

She half listened to the twins words, staring out the window with an agitated sigh. It was really annoying not being able to be heard (by anyone except for maybe her daughter?)


End file.
